Rail track assemblies

ABSTRACT

A rail track assembly, especially for heavy duty, comprising a rigid concrete base on which is mounted a track rail attached to a sole plate, the sole plate being wider than the track rail, and the gap between the sole plate and the base being occupied by a synthetic plastics material of limited width, with a relatively inexpensive concrete filling on either side of the plastics material. In some cases there may be two sole plates and adjusting means for levelling and anchoring both plates. The width of the plastics filling material is limited to the width of an imaginary pressure ridge whose flanks pass through the lower corners of the vertical web of the track rail.

'United States Patent Molyneux Sept. 9, 1975 [5" RAIL TRACK ASSEMBLIES 3,618,851 11/1971 Smith et a1 238/281 [76] Inventor: George Molyneux, Eastbrook Rd. 3,662,952 5/1972 Berks et al 238/84 Gloucester England Primary ExaminerLl0yd L. King [22] Filed: Sept. 13, 1973 Assistant ExaminerRichard A. Bertsch [21] Appl No; 396,781 Attorney, Agent, or FirmYoung & Thompson [30] Foreign Application Priority Data [57] ABSTRACT Oct. 5, 1972 United Kingdom 45877/72 A track assembly especially for heavy duty I prising a rigid concrete base on which is mounted a [52] us CL n 238/264; 238/287; 238310; track rail attached to a sole plate, the sole plate being 23 8/349; 238/281 wider than the track rail, and the gap between the sole 51 Int. cl. E01B 9/38 Plate and "P F by a synihetic P 58 Field of Search 238/84, 283, 349, 287, matenal of F with a relatvely 238/264 24, 25 26 115, 116, 117, 265 pensive concrete filling on either side of the plastics 269 281 material. In some cases there may be two sole plates and adjusting means for levelling and anchoring both [56] References Cited plaes. Tr'lhe wciidtlh cf the plastics filling matecrlial is rlim- 1te to t e M t 0 an imaginary pressure r1 e w ose UNITED STATES PATENTS flanks pass through the lower corners of the vertical 3,383,043 5/1968 Tew 238/283 b f h track iL 3,432,098 3/1969 Sato 238/283 3,565,336 2/1971 Eisses 238/283 15 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures m IIJI Llllf I rH-a /////Z////I sum 2 9f 2 PATENTEU SEP 9 i975 III E RAIL TRACK ASSEMBLIES This invention relates to the construction of heavy duty rail tracks as used for example in connection with moving Goliath cranes and the like. In such applications it is extremely important that the rail tracks should be accurately aligned and levelled and they must of course be capable of supporting extremely heavy loads.

To construct the rail tracks in the conventional manner used for railways, on loose ballast, would be totally unsatisfactory for these heavy duty applications, and the normal method of constructing a heavy duty rail track is to provide a rigid base or foundation in the form of a concrete mass, or piles, with the metallic rail track mounted above the concrete mass, and the intervening gap filled with a cement or concrete grout or similar rigid filling material which can be introduced in a plastic condition and then allowed to harden. This allows the track rail to be accurately aligned and levelled.

Difficulties are experienced however in providing a satisfactory grout filling below the rail track assembly. Conventional cement grout filling tends to practice to fail after a relatively short period of use, and it is believed that this may be due partly to the very heavy localised loads, and partly to the small bending stresses applied to the metallic rail track, which may create small fretting movements on the underside of the rail track, or its supporting sole plate, which exacerbate the risk of failure in the grout. In an attempt to overcome these difficulties it has been proposed to substitute a special mortar including a synthetic plastic resin, such as the socalled epoxy mortar, which is less liable to failure. Unfortunately the cost of these special synthetic plastic mortars is so great that it may exceed the cost of the metal rail track itself. It is an object of the present invention accordingly to provide an alternative grouting system for a heavy duty rail track of this general type, which will avoid some of the existing problems and disadvantages.

Broadly stated the invention consists in a rail track assembly comprising a rigid concrete or other base, and a track rail located on a sole plate above the base, the sole plate being wider than the track rail and extending on both sides thereof, and in which the gap between the sole plate and base is occupied partly by a mortar or other rigid filling composition containing a hard setting synthetic plastics material, which extends laterally a limited distance, not exceeding or not greatly exceeding the lateral width of the sole plate.

Conveniently the said gap, on either side of the synthetic plastics composition, is filled with a cementitious or like relatively inexpensive mortar, grout, or other filling composition.

In many cases the central strip of plastics filling com position extends laterally over a total width not greatly exceeding the width of the botton flange of the track rail. In any case the lateral width of the synthetic plastics filling composition is preferably limited substantially to the width of an imaginary inverted pressure ridge, whose flanks pass close to the lower corners of the main vertical web of the track rail.

In a particular preferred construction the assembly includes a second sole plate, of lesser width than the first sole plate, and positioned vertically between the first sole plate and the filling composition.

The assembly may also include means for levelling or adjusting the first or second sole plate, and means for anchoring the first sole plate in position thereon, after adjustment.

This provides a particularly convenient arrangement for repairing or replacing a rail track assembly where the original cementitious grout has failed, and enables great accuracy in levelling to be obtained.

The invention may be performed in various ways and two specific embodiments will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic sectional end view showing the main component parts of a rail track assembly on a concrete base (with the main sole plate omitted for convenience) and illustrating the imaginary direct pressure ridge" below the rail,

FIG. 2 is another sectional end elevation illustrating a later stage in the construction with the metallic rail track and upper sole plate in position,

FIG. 3 is another sectional end elevation illustrating the final stage in the construction, and

FIG. 4 is a similar sectional end elevation illustrating another embodiment of the invention.

In the first example the invention is applied to a process of restoring or repairing a heavy duty rail track when the original cement grout filling below the sole plate of the track has failed in use. The first stage in the process is to remove the existing rail from the normal anchorage bolts (see 28 in FIG. 2), hack out the original cement grout, and then scrabble a shallow groove or trough 10 in the upper surface of the concrete foundation or mass 11 immediately below the line of the track. The depth of this trough may be about one quarter inch to one half inch and its width is preferably equal to or slightly greater than the width of the direct pressure ridge from the rail track. This pressure ridge is illustrated in FIG. 1 and is in the form of an isosceles right angled triangle 12 as seen in end elevation, with the apex 13 of the triangle at the centreline of the web 14 of the rail 15, and the flanks or sides of the triangle passing through the lower corners 16 of the web. The inclination of each side of the triangle is in this example 45, though in some applications the included angle at the apex may be as low as The apex angle of the pressure ridge can be calculated theoretically and the width of the base of the triangle, which determines the width of the trough 10, can therefore be calculated from a knowledge of what will be the final vertical position of the rail itself, including all the intervening components and filling materials.

The next stage in the process is to position accurately a lower sole plate 20 over the shallow trough in the concrete, by means of a series of vertical levelling screws as indicated at 21. It will be noted that the lower sole plate 20 in this example is a 6 inches X V2 inch mild steel fiat plate, to the underside of which are attached transverse mild steel strips 23, at three foot intervals, these transverse strips being designed to receive and locate the levelling screws. With this bottom sole plate accurately levelled an epoxy mortar in a plastic state is then introduced into the gap between the sole plate 20 and the concrete base, the epoxy mortar strip 24 being limited to the width of the trough 10 formed in the concrete, i.e. having a width which is approximately equal to or slightly greater than the width of the base of the pressure triangle, or the width of the base flange 26 of the rail itself. The epoxy mortar includes a chemical hardening or curing agent and therefore hardens in situ.

The next stage in the process is to fix the anchorage bolts 28 as illustrated in FIG. 2, for which purpose the concrete mass 11 is drilled out and rag bolts are grouted into position, preferably with the same epoxy mortar. An upper sole plate 30 is then positioned over the lower sole plate 20, and apertured lugs 31 welded at intervals along the opposite edges of the upper sole plate are then positioned on the bolts 28 and tightened down.

The actual metallic track rail is then positioned and secured on the upper surface of the top sole plate 30, with an intervening resilient pad 33 as illustrated in FIG. 3. For this purpose a series of anchorages 34 are provided along both sides of the track rail, each anchorage comprising a stud 36 welded to the top sole plate 30 to locate an anchorage body 38 which holds a spring clip 39 bearing down on the adjacent part of the bottom flange 26 of the track rail. The anchorages 34 comprise locators connecting the track rail to the sole plate. Finally, the remaining gaps between the sole plate 30 and the concrete base, on either side of the strip of epoxy mortar 24, are filled in with a relatively inexpensive cement grout 40, which may also extend somewhat laterally beyond the edges of the top sole plate as illustrated in FIG. 3.

This process allows considerable economies to be made in the quantity of epoxy mortar used, but without unduly increasing the risk of failure since the epoxy mortar is present within the pressure ridge 12 where the major pressure loading and fretting occurs, and the relatively inexpensive cement grout 40 is used to fill the remaining gaps on both sides where the pressure loading and fretting will be considerably less, but where some form of in-filling is still required.

It will also be noted that the invention uses two separate sole plates 20, 30, which are not rigidly secured together before or'during assembly. This is particularly convenient when repairing an existing rail track assembly, since the lower sole plate can be accurately aligned and levelled before the upper sole plate and track rail are placed in position, and the epoxy mortar can be introduced below the bottom sole plate before the upper sole plate is positioned.

The second embodiment illustrated in FIG. 4 is intended for situations where great accuracy in levelling and alignment of the track rail is required. In FIG. 4 parts corresponding to those of the first example are indicated by the same reference numerals.

In this example only one sole plate 30 is used, both for anchoring the track rail and for levelling the assembly relative to the concrete base 11. A series of levelling bolts 45 are grouted into holes drilled in the concrete base at closely spaced intervals positioned alternately on opposite sides of the track rail 15. These bolts carry nuts which cooperate with lugs 46 welded to the sole plate 30, and opposite each lug 46 on the other side of the track rail is provided a rail anchorage device 34 similar to that described in the previous example.

In the construction and installation of this track rail assembly a groove is first scabbled in the concrete base, foam rubber pads 47 are positioned beneath both opposite edges of the sole plate 30, and with the track rail securely anchored to the sole plate by means of the adjustable anchorage devices 34, the whole assembly is accurately aligned and levelled by adjustment of the nuts on the levelling bolts 45. In doing so the sole plate 30 is pulled down onto the rubber pads 47. Epoxy grout is then introduced into the space between the sole plate 30 and the trough 10, for which purpose the sole plate is formed with a series of grout filling holes 48 along one side, and a series of air escape holes 49 along the other side. This epoxy grout filling operation .may be performed in short lengths of say 1 or 2 metres with transverse dividers or partitions inserted at intervals along the length of the rail. In this example again it will be noted that the width of the epoxy grout 50 is effectively limited to the transverse width at this height of the pressure ridge 12 whose flanks pass through the lower corners of the vertical web of the track rail. This construction and assembly method can provide extreme accuracy in levelling the top surface of the rail itself, and also has many of the advantages of the first example referred to above.

I claim:

1. A heavy duty rail track assembly comprising a rigid concrete base, a metal sole plate mounted above said base, a track rail located on said sole plate, locators connecting said track rail to said sole plate, anchorages connecting the sole plate to said base, a layer or a rigid filling composition containing a hard setting synthetic plastics material between said sole plate and said base, the width of said filling composition being limited to less than the lateral width of the sole plate, and means confining the said filling composition to said limiting width.

2. An assembly according to claim 1, in which the width of the plastics filling composition is limited by resilient sealing strips.

3. An assembly according to claim 1, in which the width of the plastics filling composition is less than the width of the bottom flange of the track rail.

4. An assembly according to claim 1, in which the lateral width of the synthetic plastics filling composition is approximately equal to the width at the level of an imaginary inverted pressure ridge, whose flanks pass close to the lower corners of the main vertical web of the track rail, and whose included apex angle is not more than 5. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein said anchorages connecting the sole plate to said base are adjustable vertically.

6. A-heavy duty rail track assembly comprising a rigid concrete base, .a metal sole plate mounted above said base, a track rail located on said sole plate, locators connecting said track rail to said sole plate, anchorages connecting the sole plate to said base, a layer of a rigid filling composition containing a hard setting synthetic plastics material between said sole plate and said base, the width of the said filling composition being limited to less than the maximum transverse distance between the outer edges of said locators, and means confining the said filling composition to said limiting width.

7. An assembly according to claim 1, in which the width of the plastics filling composition is limited by resilient sealing strips.

8. An assembly according to claim 1, in which the width of the plastics filling composition is less than the width of the bottom flange of the track rail.

9. An assembly according to claim 1, in which the lateral width of the synthetic plastics filling composition is approximately equal to the width at that level of an imaginary inverted pressure ridge, whose flanks pass close to the lower corners of the main vertical web of the track rail, whose included apex angle is not more than 90.

10. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein said anchorages connecting the sole plate to said base are adjustable vertically.

11. A heavy duty rail track assembly comprising a rigid concrete base, a metal sole plate mounted above said base, a track rail located on said sole plate, locators connecting said track rail to said sole plate, anchorages connecting the sole plate to said base, a layer of a rigid filling composition containing a hard setting synthetic plastics material between said sole plate and said base, the width of said filling composition being limited to less than the maximum transverse distance between said anchorages, and means confining the said filling composition to said limiting width.

12. An assembly according to claim 11, in which the width of the plastics filling composition is limited by resilient sealing strips.

13. An assembly according to claim 11, in which the width of the plastics filling composition is less than the width of the bottom flange of the track rail.

14. An assembly according to claim 11, in which the lateral width of the synthetic plastics filling composition is approximately equal to the width at that level of an imaginary inverted pressure ridge, whose flanks pass close to the lower corners of the main vertical web of the track rail, and whose included apex angle is not more than 15. An assembly according to claim 1 1, wherein said anchorages connecting the sole plate to said base are adjustable vertically.

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION PATENTNO.: 3 9 4 DATED September 9, 1975 V 1 George MOLYNEUX It is certified that error appears in the ab0ve-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Claims 7, 8, 9 and 10, line 1 of each, change "claim 1" to ---claim 6-.

Signed and Scaled this Third Day of August 1976 [SEAL] A ttest: 

1. A heavy duty rail track assembly comprising a rigid concrete base, a metal sole plate mounted above said base, a track rail located on said sole plate, locators connecting said track rail to said sole plate, anchorages connecting the sole plate to said base, a layer or a rigid filling composition containing a hard setting synthetic plastics material between said sole plate and said base, the width of said filling composition being limited to less than the lateral width of the sole plate, and means confining the said filling composition to said limiting width.
 2. An assembly according to claim 1, in which the width of the plastics filling composition is limited by resilient sealing strips.
 3. An assembly according to claim 1, in which the width of the plastics filling composition is less than the width of the bottom flange of the track rail.
 4. An assembly according to claim 1, in which the lateral width of the synthetic plastics filling composition is approximately equal to the width at the level of an imaginary inverted pressure ridge, whose flanks pass close to the lower corners of the main vertical web of the track rail, and whose included apex angle is not more than 90*.
 5. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein said anchorages connecting the sole plate to said base are adjustable vertically.
 6. A heavy duty rail track assembly comprising a rigid concrete base, a metal sole plate mounted above said base, a track rail located on said sole plate, locators connecting said track rail to said sole plate, anchorages connecting the sole plate to said base, a layer of a rigid filling composition containing a hard setting synthetic plastics material between said sole plate and said base, the width of the said filling composition being limited to less than the maximum transverse distance between the outer edges of said locators, and means confining the said filling composition to said limiting width.
 7. An assembly according to claim 1, in which the width of the plastics filling composition is limited by resilient sealing strips.
 8. An assembly according to claim 1, in which the width of the plastics filling composition is less than the width of the bottom flange of the track rail.
 9. An assembly according to claim 1, in which the lateral width of the synthetic plastics filling composition is approximately equal to the width at that level of an imaginary inverted pressure ridge, whose flanks pass close to the lower corners of the main vertical web of the track rail, whose included apex angle is not more than 90*.
 10. An assembly according to claim 1, wherein said anchorages connecting the sole plate to said base are adjustable vertically.
 11. A heavy duty rail track assembly comprising a rigid concrete base, a metal sole plate mounted above said base, a track rail located on said sole plate, locators connecting said track rail to said sole plate, anchorages connecting the sole plate to said base, a layer of a rigid filling composition containing a hard setting synthetic plastics material between said sole plate and said base, the width of said filling composition being limited to less than the maximum transverse distance between said anchorages, and means confining the said filling composition to said limiting width.
 12. An assembly according to claim 11, in which the width of the plastics filling composition is limited by resilient sealing strips.
 13. An assembly according to claim 11, in which the width of the plastics filling composition is less than the width of the bottom flange of the track rail.
 14. An assembly according to claim 11, in which the lateral width of the synthetic plastics filling composition is approximately equal to the width at that level of an imaginary inverted pressure ridge, whose flanks pass close to the lower corners of the main vertical web of the track rail, and whose included apex angle is not more than 90*.
 15. An assembly according to claim 11, wherein said anchorages connecting the sole plate to said base are adjustable vertically. 